Destiny 2 players are looking forward to the next expansion, though the time for any last-minute errands is done. Destiny 2’s servers are down for The Final Shape, and now, all you can do is wait.
Players who want to change their loadouts, exchange their Legendary Shards, or pick up those final weapons before the expansion will find that their opportunities to do so are gone, with the Destiny 2 servers being offline until the next expansion. This isn’t due to any technical issues, as has been the case before. Rather, it’s a usual part of the pre-update release window. Here’s why the Destiny 2 servers are down and how to make the most of that time.
Why are the Destiny 2 servers down before The Final Shape?
The Destiny 2 servers are down due to a scheduled maintenance window before The Final Shape releases. These types of outages are expected whenever there’s an update, and expansions generally bring more server downtime. For instance, regular hotfixes and minor updates can take the servers down for a couple of hours, but the downtime before an expansion is generally unrivaled.
The Witch Queen’s release brought the servers down for around 14 hours at the time, but Lightfall took the servers out of commission for 24 hours. The Final Shape is more in line with the latter.
When will Destiny 2 servers return with The Final Shape?
Barring any delays, the Destiny 2 servers should come back once The Final Shape is released at 12pm CT on June 4, which is the expansion’s scheduled launch period. Barring any delays, guardians can preload The Final Shape‘s update 8.0.0.1 starting at reset on June 3, which makes for a simpler process until the next expansion reaches the servers officially.
Though the servers are slated to come back at 12pm CT, it may take a bit longer until players can actually dive into The Pale Heart. Guardians are bound to get into the usual pre-expansion server queue with the dreaded “Destiny 2 is temporarily at capacity” message. And that’s without accounting for any other potential technical issues that may delay the expansion’s release.
What should I do while I wait for The Final Shape‘s release?
If you’re looking for something Destiny 2-related to occupy yourself with during the server downtime, the most important step is, of course, preloading the expansion.
While you wait, though, you can get acquainted with what’s coming with The Final Shape. Several content creators—including Datto, Aztecross, Fallout, and many more—had access to the expansion early at Bungie’s invitation, and they’ve covered a lot of what’s on the way.
Community designer Court also has a handy infographic with all the Prismatic abilities, Aspects, and Fragments, which you can use to start theorycrafting your builds early and learn what to look out for.
Lastly, if you’re a fan of the story, loremaster extraordinaire My Name is Byf has a 10-hour video that encompasses the entire narrative of the franchise, from Destiny 1 to everything before The Final Shape. If you can’t sit through the full video, though, the lore expert’s channel breaks down important plot points, and it can’t hurt to recap them before the expansion goes live.
